US2436530A - Roll for ironers - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 24, 194s.

'Js B. sANDo'- ROLL FOR IRoNERs 2 Sheets'-Sheet 1 Filed Jul-y 17l 1943 Patented Feb. 24, 1948 UNI TED S TAT ES F FICE ROLLFOR IRONERS Joseph B. Sando, Kansas v.City,.iMo.,.fassignor lto kWestern Laundry :Machinery lCompany, .a :cor-

poration of-Missouri .Application July '17, 1943, Serial No. 495,180 `In kCanada J une "'11, 1943 fMy invention vrelates to ironing "machines, f and .more particularly to heated rlls'for ironers, and

is particularly adapted for finishing rolls for ironers. This isa continuation in part of my .applicationfSerial No.:370.039, ledDecember 1'3,

1940, vvon Finishing lroll `for flat work ironer, 'patented February 26, l1946, :Patent No. 2,395,764.

Inheated rollsfor ironers,-particularly wrinkle lremoving frolls for "nat workironersit is desirable to provide a very higl-lyl1eated surface thereon,l and vit lis' the principal-purpose of my invention vto 'provide'means lvfor heating anironer roll in a manner suchthata Lvery high temperature canfbe obtained. atthe-ironing surface. This lis accomplished'by providing a narrow annular passagewayfor theneating fluid runninglength- `-wiseofvsaid roll closely adjacent the inner surlface of the wall, ythe `outer surface Yof which forms-the Aironngsurface of thel'roll, andto pass a heating :fluidthrough vsaid narrow passage at a. :rapid rate to thus lprovide ffor 'heat exchange ever, that fthe `wrinkle removing or other -highly heated -ro1l, be vconnected with a steam supply line-for theironer in such amanner that vthe live .steam passes 4from the source of supply through 'the `.narrow passage in the roll at high velocity Ito the steam chest,:tor-'chestsJ of the ironer. -Such lironersordinarily-have more than one chest,and

.iniviewofthe fact Ythat condensation will be takv.ing place-in these chests, there will'be aconstant flow of steam at high-ve1ocity='through-the roll onv itszwaylto one or-more of the'chests.

It iis :a particular purpose 4of jmy invention fto kprovidea-:roll of the abovementioned character, whichis provided .withinner and outer cylindrical :Walls i closely Iadjacent each :other to provide a vvery narrow annular passage between said lwallsextendingflengthwise offsaid-roll which constitutesyan1annular-s1ot-1ike passage for heating @fluid running from an n inlet chamber .at one end or said roll .toan outlet chamber at the other end thereof, through which said fluid .11s 4caused .to @glow-.at lhigh velocity.

at fa. maximum temperature lbetween the metal of the ironing surface wall and-the `:heating fluid.

Other lobiectsxand radvantages hf kmy :invenition :will appear :as .the vdescription of the :drawings proceeds. .I Adesire to :have it understood,

however, that lado 'inot'intend to .limit myself to the particular.'detailsshownfor described, except as deiined' in the claims.V

.'Fig. `1:is.a..-fragmentar-y .vertical sectional view throughiaJQQrtion:oafanironing machine embodyling .my'inventiom '.the showing .being somewhat diagramnratical;v

.,Fig.: Zeisza section .takenonthelne .f2-2710i Fig.

,1, :partly `lcrok'en away. v

Fig..3:is a section similarztol'ig. 2,;ofthe-tleft larged scale.

Fig. v4 .a section talen s ongthe .line fA--A pof IFig. 3. s

Fig. 631s :a-diagrammatic view fof ,the #ironing means-andthe. means for supplyingheated liquid theretofpartlybken away.

vtliig. 'Us .a fragmentary Ivertical sectional -View ,through 'a portion l'of anzironiirgmachine utilizing; 'steamzneated .chests .andzincludi-ng myinvention,A

Fig.` 8:.isz a fragmentary-,view inv elevationgtaken substantially on the lineflof Fig. 7.' L Y Referring in detail vto the drawings, ri ingEig; 1

- is shown an vironingy machine, which has a frame,

indicated generally hy'ztl'i'emumeraltl, .on which is provided ;a `receiving table lil vrover Ywhich con-lv veyor .means lf2,;made in theform `of .bandelike members, extends .to carry .the ywork into-theY ,rality triband-.like members lf3;that 'operate .overv a; series of rolls 1 I5, I 6 and lf'l ,said lbands being driven Ain any desired manner, Eby any suitable .driving means, any oneof rthe rolls, such as the roll l5,;ifor example, .being driven from a suitable :source of power Vand the remaining rolls rotating vfreelylonitheir. axes. The roll .llisadjustableso v as to vary :the tension of the bands I3 and vary the pressure .'exertedby saidbands onthe ironing .suracexformedonthe ,convex side of the curved bottom Wall 2D ofthestationary .ironing member V22,.,supported from frame vmembers 23 andhav- 'ing sidewalls .2|and against the surface of the kroll L25.

Said ironing `member is heated vvby a liquid :discharged from. a liquidv distributing member .24, whichis ,described m-ore in detail in my :Patent .No..2,324,029,on Heatingmeans for ironiers, patentedJuly 13, 19.43.

:A heated ro1l,.ndicated generallyby the nu- ,meraI'ZEJnrFi-g. 1, is provdedbetween the roll |1 and the stationary ironing member having the convex ironing surface on the outer face of the wall 29, above referred to, said heated roll being, preferably, rotated by means of any suitable driving means, such as for example, by means of a sprocket chain extending from a driven roller, such as the roller IB, to the roll 25, suitable sprockets 26 on the roll |6, and 21 on the roll 25 being connected by means of a chain 23, and it will be noted that the sprocket 21 is substantially half the size of the sprocket 26, having substantially half the number of teeth of said sprocket 26. It will be obvious that as a result the outer surface of the roll 25 will have a lineal speed in excess of twice the lineal speed of the bands I3 where these contact the roll 25, the pressure with which said bands engage said roll being determined by the adjustment of the roll l1.

The construction of the roll 25 is shown more in detail in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, comprising a central ironing portion that has an outer cylindrical wall portion 29 and an inner cylindrical wall portion 39, said wall portions being spaced apart by means of spacing members 3| so as to provide a narrow annular slot-like passage, or space, between said walls 29 and 39, the same being indicated by the numeral 32. The spacing members 3| are merely small rectangular block-like members, as will be evident from the drawings, that are welded to the outer surface of the inner cy lindrical member 3|] and to the inner surface of the outer cylindrical member 29 at the ends of said cylindrical members 29 and 39. Thus an annular passage 32 of a very restricted character is provided running lengthwise of the roll between the walls 29 and 39. A tubular member 33 is connected with the outer cylindrical member 29 by means of a connecting member 34, that is welded to the cylindrical member 29, and which is Welded to, and nts against the shoulder 35 on the member 33. A tubular member 36 is similarly connected by means of a member 31 with the other end of the cylindrical member 29. Said tubular members 33 and 36 serve as hollow shaft portions that are mounted in the bearings 38 provided on the frame I 0. The sprocket member 21 is mounted to rotate with the tubular member 33 to thus drive the roll 25.

An inlet pipe 39 is provided, which extends from a fluid heater, preferably, a heater 12 for a liquid that is of high boiling point, which is utilized for heating the roll, as well as the stationary ironing member, and a collar 49 is fixed onsaid inlet pipe 39, against which a rotatable collar 4| bears, said rotatable collar 4| bearing against the internal shoulder 42 provided in the tubular member 33. Said tubular member 33 is externally threaded at 43 and a packing nut 44 has internal threads engaging with the threads 43 to force a flanged collar 45, which is rotatably mounted on the member 39, into engagement with a plurality of plies of compressible packing 46. Thus a liquid tight joint is provided between the stationary pipe 39 and the rotatable tubular member 33, and said inlet pipe 39 empties into the inlet chamber 41, provided in the tubular member 33 and the connecting member 34 leading into one end of the annular passage 32. The tubular member 36 is provided with a similar means for providing a fluid tight joint between itself and the stationary outlet pipe 48, the space within the tubular member 35 and within the member 31 serving as an outlet chamber 49, which is connected with the outlet pipe 43, and into which the fluid passing lengthwise through the roll between the walls 29 and 3U discharges to be carried from the roll. It will be noted that said chambers 41 and 49 are of much greater cross sectional area than the annular slot-like passage 32.

Preferably, a liquid is utilized to heat the roll, and it will be obvious that the chamber 1| between the end Walls 5U and the cylindrical wall 30 is closed off from the heating liquid, the walls 50 being welded to the wall 39, as will be obvious. Thus the heating liquid circulated by the pump 13 through pipe 14 will enter through the pipe 39 into the inlet chamber 41 and then ow at a rapid rate in a thin annular stream through the narrow, thin, attenuated, or restricted, passage 32 lengthwise of the roll in contact with the inner surface of the wall 29, the outer surface of which serves as the convex ironing surface of the roll, and out through the outlet chamber 49 to the outlet pipe 48 back to the heating means for the heating liquid through the pump 13, or to any suitable apparatus that may be heated thereby before such return.

The roll 25 will thus be highly heated on the ironing surface thereof by the liquid, which may have a temperature as high as 500 degrees Fahrenheit without boiling, and will be traveling in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 at a rate at its surface about twice that of the conveyor bands i3.

Instead of providing the smoothing,or nishing, roll on an ironer of the type above described, the same can be applied to a conventional flat work ironer, having a stationary ironing member 5I, such as shown in Fig. '7, with which the rotatable padded members 52 cooperate to carry the work through the machine in engagement with said stationary shoe, or chest-like member. Said chest-like member is, preferably, provided with a .plurality of chambers, or steam chests, 53, into which the branch pipes 54 from the steam pipe 55 lead. The work, in a machine of this character, is fed from a table 56 by means of band-like members V51 passing over the same toward the statlonary ironing member 5|, and in the particular machine shown, additional conveyor bands 58 are provided, operating over the rolls 59 and 69 for feeding the work to the stationary ironing member. Cooperating with said conveyor members 58 is a heated wrinkle removing finishing roll 25', similar to the roll 25 in all respects, except as described below.

A pair of nexible aprons, of an endless beltlike character, 6| and 62 are provided in a machine of this character, the apron 6| carrying the work under the stationary ironing member 5| in engagement therewith from left to right after the same has passed from right to left of the ironing member on top of the ironing member, and then said aprons V6| and 62 carry the work back between the same to the other end of the machine, which is not shown. The apron 62 is driven by means of a driven roll 63 and, preferably, the roll 69 is driven from the roll 63 by means of a sprocket chain 64, while the roll 25' is driven by means of a sprocket chain 65 operating over a sprocket wheel 66, which rotates with the driven conveyor roll 52, and over a sprocket 61 mounted to rotate with the roll 25'. The rate of rotation of the rolls 52 and 63 and the size of the sprockets utilized is such that the roll 25 will rotate at substantially twice the lineal surface speed of the roll 69, and thus the lineal surface speed of the roll 25 will be substantially twice the lineal speed of the bands 58.

Referring to Fig. 8, an inlet pipe 68 for live fazisasso 25',as shown in Fig.l8, passingthrough thelnarrow passagebetween the inner and outercylindrical vportions 29 and 3B, previously described, and through the outlet chamber into the discharge pipe 69. The discharge pipe 59 is con- -nected with the pipe 55, as will be obvious from Fig. 7, which supplies the steam to the chests '53, and the chests 53 are provided with suitable return conduits, which may be provided with suitable traps, and so on, asis customary, between the same andthe boiler, or other means for creating the steam, which is `not shown, as the same is conventional.

lIt .will ibe obviousthat a rapid flow of steam through the narrow annular passage provided in the roll 25 adjoining the ironing surface, will be obtained due to the fact that the live steam will be drawn through the same at a rapid rate as condensation takes place inthe chests 53, and that the ironing surface of the `roll .25 can be heated Yto as high a temperature as is possible with steam, without using unduly high and unsafe pressures. VAlso theheating of the roll 25 `will besuch that it will .have a high enough temperature as to instantaneously remove the wrinkles from the workas the same is brought into vengagement Awithsaid roll ,by the conveying means 58. The roll 25 is, of course, mounted in suitable bearings on the frame 'iii of the ironing machine, and the sprocket wheel Gil is, of course, fixed to the tubular member 33 in a similar man nerto that describedin connection with the form of the invention shown in Figs. l. to 5, inclusive.

What I claim is:

l. In a flat work ironer, a roll, and means for heating said roll comprising means providing an annular restricted passage adjoining the ironing surface thereof, means for passing live steam through said passage lengthwise of said roll and means for accelerating the rate of iiow of steam therethrough comprising a steam chest of said ironer connected with the discharge end of said passage.

2. In a laundry machine, a rotatable cylindrical member of much greater length than diameter and means for heating the same, said rotatable member comprising a pair of long imperforate tubular members coaxially arranged one within the other, the outer diameter of the inner tubular member closely approaching the inner diameter of the outer tubular member to define a long narrow slot-like smooth walled duct of uniform annular cross section and unobstructed from end to end thereof therebetween, said inner tubular member being closed at its ends, an inlet chamber at one end of said rotatable member leading endwise into one end of said duct, an outlet chamber at the other end of said rotatable member leading endwise from the other end of said duct, an inlet for heating fluid leading centrally into said inlet chamber, an outlet for heating fluid leading centrally from said outlet chamber, said inlet and outlet chambers and said heating fiuid inlet and outlet being all of much greater cross sectional area than said duct to induce rapid flow of heating fluid lthrough said duct parallel to the axis of said cylindrical member, and means for withdrawing heating fluid from said outlet.

3. In an ironing machine, an elongated tubular roll of a diameter that is a small fraction of its length having inner and outer closely adjacent lout slightly spaced walls each of uniform diameter throughout the length `*thereof defining an annular restricted smooth walled but unobstructed passage between the same, the .space between said vwalls being minute `in `relation to the length of said passage, an inlet chamber at one end of said yroll opening directly into one end of said passage, an outlet chamber at ythe other end of said roll opening directly into .the other endof said passage, said chambers being ofgreater cross sectional area than saidpassage, said passage being otherwise closed and `being of uniform cross section fromendtoend thereof, means for introducing heating `fluid into said inlet chamber, an outletconnection leading from saidroutlet chamber, and means for creating a positive flow of fluid lengthwise of saidroll from said inlet chamber to said outlet chamber.

4. In an ironingvmachinaan axially elongated rotatable member, and means for Vheating vthe same, comprising an inner-closed ended elongated pipe-like tube and anV outer open endedelongated pipe-like tube, the inner wall of said outertube and the'outer wall of said inner tube being` closely spaced throughout their length to define anattenuated smooth vwalled unobstructed annular duct extending between said Walls lengthwise of said rotatable member and being of the same cross section from end to end thereof, and means for passing a heating fluid `into said member at one end thereof Vdirectly into said passage through said passage at high velocity and out of said member at the other end thereof directly .from saidpassage.

5. In an-ironing machinefanielongated tubular roll of a diameter that is a small fraction of its length having a cylindrical wail providing an ironing surface on the outer side thereof, and means for heating said ironing surface to a high temperature, comprising an elongated tubular member of uniform external diameter slightly smaller in diameter than the bore of said cylindrical wall co-axially arranged within the same to providea long narrow slit-like unobstructed heating fluid conduit of uniform cross sectional area co-extensive with said cylindrical wall and extending lengthwise of said roll closely adjacent said ironing surface, and means for creating a rapid uniform flow of heating fluid lengthwise of said roll through said conduit from one end to the other end of said cylindrical wail.-

6. In an ironing machine, an elongated tubular roll of a diameter that is a small fraction of its length comprising an outer elongated tube providing an ironing surface on the outer side thereof, and means for heating said ironing surface to a high temperature, comprising an inner elongated tube of uniform external diameter and of slightly smaller diameter than and co-axially arranged within said outer tube, thin spacing means between said tubes at the ends of the latter so as to provide a long narrow slit-like unobstructed heating fluid duct of uniform cross sectional area co-extensive with said ironing surface and extending lengthwise of said roll so as to be closely adjacent said ironing surface and means for creating a rapid uniform flow of heating fluid lengthwise of said duct through said duct from one end to the other end of said tubular roll, comprising an unobstructed inlet chamber at one end of said duct open thereto to substantially the full cross sectional area of said duct, an unobstructed outlet chamber at the other end of said duct open thereto to substantially the full cross sectional area of said duct, said chambers being of greater cross sectional area than said duct.

l roll having a diameter that is a small fraction of its length, said roll comprising an inner pipelike imperforate tubular member of uniform external diameter closed at its ends and an outer pipe-like imperforate tubular `member of uniform inner and outer diameter, thin spacing means between said inner and outer members to mount said members co-,axially in close adjacency to dene an unobstructed long narrow slot-like duct of uniform cross section between said members extending lengthwise of said rollrfrom end to end of said inner pipe-like member, and means for heating said roll comprising means for rapidly passing heating iluid lengthwise of said roll through said duct. 1

8. In a laundry machine, a rotatable cylindrical roll having a diameter that is a small fraction of its length, said roll comprising an inner pipelike imperforate tubular member of uniform external diameter closed at its ends and an outer pipe-like imperforate tubular member of uniform inner and outer diameter, thin spacing means between said inner and outer members to mount said members co-axially in close adjacency to dene an unobstructed long narrow slot-like duct of uniform cross section between said members extending lengthwise of said roll from end to end of said inner pipe-like member, and means for heating said roll comprising means for rapidly passing heating uid lengthwise of said roll through said duct, comprising an inlet chamber of larger cross sectional area than said duct at one end of said roll opening endwise intosaid duct, an inlet connection of larger cross sectional areathan said duct leading into said inlet chamber, an outlet chamber of larger cross sectional area than said duct at the other end of said roll into which said duct opens endwise, an outlet connection of larger cross sectional area than said duct leading from said outlet chamber and means for rapidly withdrawing fluid from said outlet connection.

JOSEPH B. SANDO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 311,913 Patterson Feb. 10, 1885 390,756 Corbett Oct. 9, 1888 1,379,312 Peth -May 24, 1921 1,583,333 Bigum May 4, 1926 1,651,502 Banbury Dec. 6, 1927 1,768,156 Schroder June 24, 19.30 1,820,074 Kilborn Aug. 25, 1931 1,837,562 Mayer Dec. 22, 1931 2,322,957 Sullivan June 29, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 348,464 Great Britain May 14, 1931 629,806 Germany May 13, 1936

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